Memeorandum

May 19, 2012

Beyond A Reasonable Doubt

Alan Dershowitz thinks State Prosecutor Corey is a long way from clearing the reasonable doubt threshold in the Zimmerman case.

But here is a bit of a minor point for the Mixed Martial Arts fans - if (IF!) Martin was on top of Zimmerman in a high straddle, how did Zimmerman's gun (holstered in his waistband) become visible (which was how Zimmerman's father described the showdown)? Martin should have been kneeling over his hips or abdomen.

Obviously, scuffles can get confusing very quicky. And this would be a lot more important if Zimmerman had the burden of proving his self-defense story beyond a reasonable doubt.

But it seems to me that Zimmerman mnust have been making a bit of progress in freeing himself if his hips had become visible (and accessible to himself).

THE TIMES ON DEE-DEE: The NY Times describes Trayvon Martin's call with his girlfriend and includes this bit of amusement as to how she was discovered:

Several weeks after Mr. Martin’s death, his father, Tracy, discovered that his son had been talking to the girl just before he was shot. He learned this by reviewing Mr. Martin’s phone bills. She was subsequently interviewed by the Martin family’s lawyer, Benjamin L. Crump, but not by the Sanford police.

Uh huh. Several days after the shooting (I recall March 5 from the evidence file but can't look it up just now) the Sanford PD contacted Mr. Martin and asked for their wireless plan PIN so they could access Martin's phone records. Mr. Martin said he would take their request up with his lawyers, and that is where the Sanford PD drop out of the story, as weeks weeks went by with no apparent action on the cell phone front.

But by happy coincidence, the girlfriend was discovered a day or two after the 911 phone calls were made public. Did the information in those calls aid her recollection? We will never know.

Comments

There may be video of Trayvon honing his MMA skills. USA Today:

"Defense attorneys will likely try to attack Trayvon's character, as the media has already done by repeatedly mentioning his marijuana use, Crump said. A toxicology report noted trace amounts of THC, a component of marijuana, in Trayvon's blood and urine. Crump said he's heard rumors that someone at Trayvon's high school tried to sell video of Trayvon and other boys fighting at school."

Look you have to understand the totality of the Zimmerman crime along with the police participation in the cover up to understand Trayvons families actions.

Obvioucly the police wanted the PIN number so they could erase his phone logs, thus denying evidence of the crime. I am pretty sure Zimmerman and the ciops planned to kill the girlfriend off as well, but they lost their chance.

Clearly this thing was entirely planned as a first degree murder bacause Zimmerman wanted to kill a black guy and got the cops to help.

I know its true, Joe Biden told me and he say it on an episode of Will and Grace.

Don’t underestimate DeeDee. Any girl who can hear grass, discern that a 27 year old’s voice is that of an “old man” and tell that a 17 year old football player that ran 90 feet is tired and scared is far more attuned than most people.

Although I still believe Zimmerman would have better been served by a Texas style personal injury lawyer in a ten gallon hat playing this out in the media daily, doing the cross examination of DeeDee requires someone with the restraint of O’Mara. It will be easy enough to get her to admit most of her recollections were suggested by Crump, but any gratuitous destruction of her would only elicit sympathy with a jury.

Oh Jane-don't you know that in our new world facts and beliefs and emotions are all equally valid perspectives. Entitled to equal deference as we engage in Meaningful Dialogue?

By the way if anyone living in DC has or gets a hard copy of the May/June Washington Monthly please let me know. I am thinking that certain interest groups wished they had realized what they were tipping off when there ceased to be any need to use Proper Nouns. Also leave it to a lawyer to notice the significance of what kind of prepositions you used as signifying what is and is not a substitutable synonym.

And you wonder why they insist grammar not be taught. It's such a useful analytical tool under certain circumstances.

Back to Zimmerman-it is so troubling to have kept track of the accurate story all along and then watch the MSM's version for the masses. Such overt manipulation on what is covered and how.

Between education and the media, our conscious thought is under attack. Collectively and individually.

Won't Dee Dee's testimony be sufficient to get the case past a Motion to Dismiss? And just what kind of jury are you going to have, once the prosecution ferrets out prospective jurors who admit to sharing Zimmerman's "biased" view that young black males bear watching? 1984, here we come.

The cross examination of Zimmerman at trial is going to be very dangerous for him. Not so much that he might say something that gives the jury reason to convict on manslaughter. But the effect on the court of public opinion. If people think he pulled the gun and fired to stop Martin from punching him, that could give the mob cause to demand punishment.

For comparison' sake, nearly 10 years later, Univision gave a good deal of airtime to that fool, Gary Webb's overheated CIA conspiracy allegations, the sort of stuff, the refried
version of what Kerry and the Christics were peddling in the mid 80s,

Mara no doubt is focusing on getting the charges dismissed, Steve. He's just not feeding the media beast. I might prefer more histrionics as an observer whose liberty is not on the line, but Z is better served by Mara's approach. Let the passion to punish a Great White Defendant (regardless of whether he committed a crime) die down, and focus on case preparation.

By the way, has there ever been a more unlikely candidate to be a GWD than Z, a multiracial individual who tutored black children and kept watch over a diverse neighborhood? Running Rabbit Warren would make a far more plausible GWD.

I am now convinced that there are no strategies available to O'Mara that can keep Zimmerman out of jail. Sylvia solved the case at 4:06am in the prior thread. Her logic is as airtight as her intellect is dizzying.

As with Obama, any mention of a fact is considered an attack on character.

I tell ya...I am so sick of the MFM. Is there not ONE reporter that will ask Obama about his past & the inconsistencies in the narrative? Listing Kenya on his literary bio should be a huge story after the years of mocking American citizens that asked legitimate questions. Why was James Frey (A Million Little Pieces) shamed & President Obama is not?
There sat the press at the 2011 WHCD laughing with Obama at Trump & all Americans that questioned the birth story. I find it unbelievable that the Kenya bio isn't a bigger story.

Having seen Zimmerman's inside the waistband holster and knowing how it is generally employed, I can surmise that he probably wore it in either a 4 o'clock or 5 o'clock position BEHIND his hip. This both maximizes concealment and comfort. Wearing an IWB at the 3 o'clock (directly on the side) pushes the gun uncomfortably into the side.

With Martin in a top mount or an open guard, Zimmerman would simply need to shift his weight to the opposite hip momentarily and push up with his feet to create enough space to reach under and draw the Kel-Tec PF9 he was carrying.

"Having seen Zimmerman's inside the waistband holster and knowing how it is generally employed, I can surmise that he probably wore it in either a 4 o'clock or 5 o'clock position BEHIND his hip. This both maximizes concealment and comfort"

Mae West said; 'Is that a gun in your pants or are you just glad to see me'.

With a few hundred pounds of pressure pressing steel against flesh and bone, I suspect Zim had a clue what the lump was, no?

The article states 52% Freshman and 50% Sophomores scored AT current grade. The remainder should be a combination of those that scored below plus those that scored above their grade. Their conclusion may be true, but only if 0% scored above their current grade, which I find highly improbable.

So to sum up, a local commissioner, who had been suspended for ethical misappropriation, was reinstated by the same commission, as part of the same pa de deux move, so that she would be the swing vote in the removal of the police chief, and promptly hires another official, who at best ignored, at worst abetted fraud,

I've done a whole lot of testifying in my time and watched much, much more.
It's a hard enough assignment testifying truthfully, just trying to keep the facts straight and not being tripped up by the other side, and that's as an experienced adult with a complete grasp of the facts in completely uninteresting civil proceedings.
If Dee Dee is asked to or voluntarily makes up a story in this circus and O'Mara is as competent as he seems to me, her story will be for the most part excluded and what is allowed in will be so discredited it will have almost no bearing on the case's disposition.
And if it's a bench trial O'Mara will have little reason to go easy on her. He can't be deliberately cruel but he'll have wide latitude to shred her.
I'm still at 50/50 on the immunity hearing.
In a just world it would be 90/10.

in our new world facts and beliefs and emotions are all equally valid perspectives. Entitled to equal deference as we engage in Meaningful Dialogue?

I watched at little documentary about "Atlas Shrugged" last night. Having been some time since I read the book all the way through, one of the quotes from the book was about the replacement of the Age of Reason with the Age of Love.

Also, I don't want to sound like a cranky old man (get the hell off my lawn anyway!), but has anyone else noticed the emergence of the phrase "I feel" as a replacement for "I believe" or "I think"? As in, "I feel that the 1927 Yankees are the best team in history." I hear it primarily from juicboxers and college types, but I was toddling around the grocery story and heard a woman on the phone use it repeatedly.

Why was James Frey (A Million Little Pieces) shamed & President Obama is not?

Isn't it interesting how all of Oprah's friends (again on the theme of the replacement of thought with feeling) are phonies? She's like the negative barometer for who you can trust.

If I concede that the test results were shockingly bad news, can anyone then agree with me that it might be of some interest to know if it really was half failed (as the headlines scream), or quarter failed, or a tenth failed?

On the reading, like graduation rates, there is a desire to come up with a number now that can be "improved" upon in subsequent years without anyone bothering to check the criteria for improvement.

Too late. That's part of what I did this morning. I know that part of Fla's waiver had the feds insisting the ESL students had to be part of all measurements. That will encourage some bad practices that will close the achievement gap but do it by levelling the opportunities for the most able students.

I am going to do a story on what continuous improvement is really tracking in the next week or so. Michigan and Florida both have just going into effect statutes on the point that I suspect their Governors are not aware of. I may send Gerard Robinson's staff a copy as it is coming in through an open back window. It says expressly though it is applicable to every room in the school house once it makes it in the building.

I have said this before and I will say it again. Whole Language never went away. It got renamed. Florida State was doing good work on the issue of poor reading instruction creating learning disabilities. They became the recipient of a $20 million literacy grant along with 4 others. The other 4 were recognizably WL. That's $100 million of your tax money or debt to make sure WL approaches predominate and FSU's priorities were tainted by grants. This was a 2009 or 2010 grant but it has to do with Common Core's implementation.

Secondly, the southern ed lab contract was lost by Greensboro and gained by FSU. Greensboro and NC State will remain compromised and now FSU will become so.

Lovely what research grants in education do to the priorities of the modern research u.

If Martin is straddling Zimmerman then his lower legs would be alongside and parallel to his lower body. He may have either felt the weapon still in the holster or felt Zimmerman attempting to reach for or draw it.

I love how MJW pointed out that the Bio said Kenya, but in the actual book Obama (Ayers) wrote - ”…during the day on drives around the island or on short walks past the private landmarks of a family: the lot where my father’s apartment had once stood; the remodeled hospital where I had been born; my grandparents’ first house in Hawaii,…” (page 100) bold mine

--If I concede that the test results were shockingly bad news, can anyone then agree with me that it might be of some interest to know if it really was half failed (as the headlines scream), or quarter failed, or a tenth failed? --

Having now read the article Alice, it appears failing means reading below grade level. I'm guessing the 50 and 52% numbers indicates those who scored at or above grade level.
But I still don't care much. :)

"that it might be of some interest to know if it really was half failed (as the headlines scream), or quarter failed, or a tenth failed?"

AliceH,

How would that serve the intent of the propaganda? The intent was to elicit a feeling of concern which can then be manipulated into a nod towards providing more OPM to "fix the problem". If the purpose of the article had been to actually inform, rather than elicit a feeling, the propagandist would have provided a link to 2012 FCAT results.

It is very unfair of you to criticize MFM propaganda for its lack of meaningful content. You should feel ashamed of yourself for doing so.

i>"that it might be of some interest to know if it really was half failed (as the headlines scream), or quarter failed, or a tenth failed?"

AliceH,

How would that serve the intent of the propaganda? The intent was to elicit a feeling of concern which can then be manipulated into a nod towards providing more OPM to "fix the problem". If the purpose of the article had been to actually inform, rather than elicit a feeling, the propagandist would have provided a link to 2012 FCAT results.

It is very unfair of you to criticize MFM propaganda for its lack of meaningful content. You should feel ashamed of yourself for doing so.

(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama pledged at a summit on Saturday to work with Europe on a package that balances growth with debt reduction as world leaders try to prevent the worsening euro zone crisis from destabilizing the global economy.

Wouldn't it be great if he could do the same thing here?

I don't know. When I read this for some reason my hand instinctively moved to check my wallet.

If Kathy (a guy) WeeDumbyDave, ButtBuster and Pitzer Colleges finest were all on the jury ,there would still need to be 8 more fuxing imbeciles on the jury to convict.
Not going to happen. At least one of the jurors will have an i.q. over 80, and that won't be Pitzer boy.

Reading at grade level has to do with how many words you recognize. Off "taught" words you have students with no idea what to do. Many have been so trained to look for clues in context that their eyes dart around the page. Colleges are starting to note this behavior in incoming students and are "wondering as to the cause". I saw report and knew cause.

Physically and reflexively the reading techniques have habituated these kids not to be able to read print linearly or sequentially.

A news story is about new metrics on a fixed population. There are 3 Major categories measured against a target. The 3 categories are a) above, b) equal and c) below.

The report only reports the values for category b (equal) and asserts the conclusion based on conflating results into just two categories - "b" and "not b".

Is this a clear and objective reporting of the facts? I believe it is not. I think it is a sloppy or purposeful pre-emption of relevant of information in a rush to convey the preferred (correct or not) conclusion.

Narciso @10:41.
Looks to me like the Obama Regime is not allowing any visas for anyone who is not pro Castro.
-------------------------------------------
On the Kenyan birth claim,
Once again Jack Cashill explains it clearly:

"I think it is a sloppy or purposeful pre-emption of relevant information in a rush to convey the preferred (correct or not) conclusion."

AliceH,

Now you've done it. If you keep thinking you're going to start questioning the weight and discomfort of your serf's collar, not to mention the purchase cost and maintenance fees. Continuing with this type of behavior may result in feelings of discomfort among other around you.

((I don't know. When I read this for some reason my hand instinctively moved to check my wallet.))

it's all just big show, the main thing on the agenda is how they can keep their excellent gig going -- summits at five star hotels, luxury travel and accomodation, drivers, kobe beef on the menu, and not a single sou paid for out of their own pockets. where is there any attempt to constrain spending OPM? kings have been overthrown for these exact same reasons. But the idiot Democrats want more, more and more of these ostentatious bureaucratic leeches running the world.

A few years ago, I was required to attend some management training courses on giving employees feedback. Using the words "I feel" instead of "think" or "believe" was expressly and explicitly recommended, as a way to reduce possiblities the "problem employee" would react defensively.

I guess what bo is saying is that he recognizes just how destructive Green Growth policies have been for Europe's economy. Since they are such an important mechanism for keeping europeans who are not a part of the political class in serfdom and importing the idealogy here to the US, he will use our money and credit cards to continue to finance the push.

If it was carried behind, that makes the claim that TM noticed it less plausible. I've always felt that was the weakest part of Zimmerman's story, both because it's unlikely he'd have heard a threat whilst screaming like a little girl, and it's awfully pat.

As far as being able to get to the gun, front or back, I don't find that difficult to feature. There is considerable bouncing around in that sort of fighting, neither of them is terribly heavy, and ~40 seconds is a very long time. The idea that he managed to get the weight off the holster for the second it took to draw the weapon isn't indicative of much of anything to me.

((A few years ago, I was required to attend some management training courses on giving employees feedback))

several years ago I was given the opportunity to "attend", via long distance phone meeting, some seminars on writing sponsored by the CS publishing society. As prep work, one of the things we were asked to do was to read O magazine. During the first seminar our leader told ut that she could not bring herelf to like anyone who did not like O magazine. We were advised to use a lot of "feeling" verbiage in our articles. It was one of the biggest wastes of time I have ever endured.

"Physically and reflexively the reading techniques have habituated these kids not to be able to read print linearly or sequentially.

Dewey would be pleased."

RSE,

Couple that with the 'bullying initiative' and KaKaWorld is within sight. We can only hope that the Great OPM Famine deals with all the KaKa's in a completely natural manner. I'm not sure of their actual value as compost but I'm willing to take a wait and see attitude as they decompose.

Charles Stross's 'Laundry series; posits that IT is just a version of wizardry, to ward off demons and other denizens, my limited experience makes me concur,

Oh, absolutely. And it depends on long complicated incantations that must be stated precisely correctly, or mysterious and unexpected results may occur, the very least of which being that nothing happens.

Like I saw 'Hard Measures' is very good, although it's a tiny firebreak against the deluge of spilled narrative, that Soufan and
others spun, over the last few years.
One quibble, I might have is he is far too understanding to the likes of Sulick, who Rodriguez replaced, and subsequently got his old job back for dissing Goss, Although the acknowledgements go a certain degree to explaining that.

In the terminal naivete division, one has to consider Jack Goldsmith's latest, which ahows he doesn't really understand how he was used by the Dems, to dismantle the interrogation regime.

but has anyone else noticed the emergence of the phrase "I feel" as a replacement for "I believe" or "I think"?

YES! And I find myself using it in posts and then erasing it. You can't challenge feelings, but you can challenge thoughts. If I say: "I feel you are being unfair". That has nothing whatsoever to do with whether you are being unfair or not. Because it's all about my feelings making it the perfect vehicle for manipulation.

And keep in mind, the true narcissist is a person who believes that everyone "feels" exactly what he feels and thus no one else's feelings matter.

Yes Rick. The bullying initiative is to create a perceived problem so that a desired remedy can be offered that. stunningly enough, dovetails nicely with Professor Bode's proposals. The School Climate Center that is in charge of the anti-bullying campaign was, until recently, the Center for Social and Emotional Learning.

Yet another Teachers College creation. I am working on another creation where the desire to close the achievement gap has the dear prof wanting to know if there will soon be a biological fix to eliminate genetic differences.

He also still wants there to be social classes. Steerage will not do I suppose. He just wants there to be an equal distribution of whites and minorities in each class.